Eddie Izzard

Eddie Izzard planning barefoot desert track for charity

Few people put their heart and sole into fund-raising quite like Eddie Izzard. For the comedian, 49, is planning his most challenging charity challenge yet - running barefoot through Africa.

ITV2's sketch-mistress Katy Brand introduces highlights of the 2011 Laughs in the Park open-air comedy event held in St Albans, which include the event's founding father, Eddie Izzard, fresh from becoming the first solo comedian to perform a gig at the Hollywood Bowl. He and fellow headliner Ross Noble share a gift for meandering absurdity, whether directed at God, the Romans or Bono, but by all accounts the brilliant Irish comic Tommy Tiernan upstaged them both: look out for his bit about mosques and their lack of chairs.

Eddie Izzard loves pirate role for Sky1 Treasure Island

Eddie Izzard got so attached to the crutch he used as Long John Silver he took it home.

Russell Howard: My grandad's the funniest person I know

Good News: the comedian loves Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard. But hates Loose Women...

Eddie Izzard's quit searching for transvestism answers

Cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard quit consulting psychiatrists in his search for the reasons behind his transvestism, after realising he knows more about the issue than most counsellors.

Video - Izzard: I will run for mayor, MEP or MP in 2020

Celebrity Labour supporter Eddie Izzard has defended Ed Miliband's speech to the Labour party conference - which was criticised as "anti-business".

In his speech, Mr Miliband attacked "predatory" firms and a "fast-buck" culture.

The comedian also told the BBC's Sian Williams that he will run for mayor, MEP or MP in 2020.

Eddie Izzard London mayoralty bid hinted at

Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone has hinted at a bid by elder comedy statesman Eddie Izzard to take on the title.

Yes, it's yet another talking heads/clips show but it does give us an opportunity to relive some cracking stand-up routines - last week's gave us Eddie Izzard covered in make-up and looking dazzling as he delivered his super skit about school-level French from his 1990s Dress To Kill show. This time, Bill Hicks rightly gets a look-in, as does Lee Evans's ingeniously physical Bohemian Rhapsody routine. Jonathan Ross, Micky Flanagan and Rich Hall are among those sharing their reverence.

It's Friday night, the pubs have closed and you need some diversion. Nothing too taxing, mind, just a familiar treat, like a bunch of old comedy clips. And here's a cunning way to recycle classic routines and sketches: you intersperse the clips with modern comedians explaining how good they were. So Jack Dee tells us how Billy Connolly's debut on the Parkinson show in 1975 was an inspiration, not least for the tasteless joke Connolly told. The programme slightly ruins the joke by revealing the punchline at the start; and you wish it wouldn't keep cutting into Eddie Izzard's inspired 'learning French' routine so that Rhod Gilbert can enthuse. Yes, we know it's good! So let us watch it!

What can be better than hearing some of our best-loved comedians describe their favourite jokes? What could be better than hearing Rhod Gilbert eulogising about Eddie Izzard learning French? That'd be much better than actually watching the routine itself, wouldn't it? Oh, yes. Miles better. Actually, how about if part of the routine was shown and then cut up for more talking head action? That doesn't sound irritating at ALL. What about setting up a Billy Connolly joke on Parkinson by revealing the punchline FIRST?

Sometimes the internet does things better than television. There's this site called YouTube where you can watch most of the routines. And then you can go on discussion forums like Cookd and Bombd and point out other jokes so funny they make you feel faint. That's a much better thing to do when home from the pub.